Why I haven't been blogging!

I must confess there is a reason I haven't been blogging. I have been very busy helping out my new neighbor. She is just setting up her home and has asked me to help her out a lot. . The Gentleman that I am I have of course been helping. I have to admit I have been spending more time at her house helping her out than I have actually been at work. Hey, a gentleman has to do what is right, right? . Yes I know sometimes other parts of your life must suffer to be a gentleman but a man has to do what a man has to do! My partner in the restaurant has been asking me why I have been spending so much time helping her out and it is something that is very hard to explain to someone you are in business with. Sometimes to be chivalrous you have to spend some time to help others! .

I have been spending so much time helping my new neighbor out that I decided to take a picture of her to show you all. She has a really great personality and you will all meet her sooner or later so I just wanted to introduce you to her. Here she is up on the ladder with me holding the ladder for her.

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Nope I think she has all the help she presently needs at the moment so you all don't need to volunteer to help me out in my time consuming tasks!

She does photograph well although I must take some credit because I took the picture with one hand holding the ladder!

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Thanks for the pic Unk, it has come in handy already:)

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Hasta Pronto!

Hello, Honey, I'm home!

Ok, Ok, I don't know why I haven't blogged. It has been very very hot in town and perhaps that has something to do with my writing abilities:)

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This is what happens when you go out at night, have a few drinks and just looking for a good time. . I found this piece of bamboo that looked amazing like a cigar. I put it in my fingers like any other cigar toting guy would and asked the gals to light it up for me. I then handed them the cigar to light which they did. My bamboo cigar got lit 8 times by 8 different Dominicanas. . They even smoked it and had the piece of bamboo lit and smoking. I was in total disbelief along with the two guys that were hanging out with me. One guy even took a movie of a gal lighting it in front of a mirror and coming out with it and smoking it. .

I then took me cigar up to the Disco and the bouncers at the bottom of the staircase point to my cigar and deny me entrance. So like the good and righteous cigar smoker I am I argue with their decision to deny me entrance. After the end of a long arguement I bang my cigar on the railing and they are rolling on the floor laughing when they realize the argues over a piece of bamboo:)

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Needless to say I was rolling on the floor. If I didn't have this movie one of the guys took with his camera it would be one of the stories that starts "You aint going to believe this shit but...". Now I have evidence of my crazy night and good times. . This is the first page of a 4 page flyer I had Carina design for the restaurant. I am going to have beautiful women handing them out to every extrajenero in town. I am also going to have them put under ever apartment door so people can see our menu.

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Business has been real slow lately. We kind of went from feast to famine. We had our biggest Week ever and now it has really dropped off. The hotel is empty and wont fill up for another week. .

I will take the time now to do what I use to do so well which is to promote business. When we are packed with customers it is hard to even think about promoting anything other than my rest, but, I do enjoy promoting a business or a event.

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I didn't do much on my day off. My trips to Cabrera won't start up again till next month. I will probably go up on Tuesday early evenings and return on Wednesday nights. This will go on for about a month or two and then relaxation again on my day off.

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We have a lot of guys in from Bermuda this week. There are 3 condos in my complex rented out to them. Real nice guys and most of them are in the building trades in Bermuda. I have been spending a lot of time with them both in the restaurant and the rest of town. Fun guys for sure.

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They came back to the condos yesterday while I was washing my cars on the side street and were hooting and hollering about me washing theirs next and of course I yelled back, "BRING IT ON". What the hell is one more?

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Last night I went home and read a book. Didn't even go out for one drink. Woke up in the morning and turned the hot water on and read some more. Before I knew it the time was 7:45 am and I was late for work. I ran out of the house without my shower and went to open the restaurant. I like getting in before the employees. Today I didn't:( Imposible to do the books when the chatter starts! I usually get in 20 minutes before I left the house today. Had a great nights sleep and I feel great now that I caught up with everything.

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Today Diego from Http://www.lifeinthedr.com is coming in with some glass guys. I need work to be finished on my Air Conditioned Dining room. I hired guys to do the work and they showed up with materials and started work. Needless to say they never returned. Hopefully these guys will finish the job!

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Check out the website! It is maturing into a very nice message board to get some good info about this place. http://www.lifeinthedr.com/forum

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It is sometimes tough getting work done here. I don't care who you are or who you know. Work Ethic is like a foreign language sometimes.

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My buddy Jackie Quontee left me after showing up without prior notice for a surprise weekend. Of course the guy drank my bottle of Don Julio and then left town:) I actually had a guy coming the day after he drank it and I thought I was going to surprise him with a new bottle. The guy calls me from the Duty Free in Miami and guess what? They don't have the Don Julio tequilla. So I ask for another bottle of Patron Silver, Belvedere and I got a bottle of JW Gold label. I go pick Mark up at the airport and he shows me a broken bottle of Patron Silver:( At least I added two others to the display.

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Come back soon Jackie! It is no fun not to be able to watch you crawl through the streets after knocking down a bottle of tequilla mixed in with the Buds~! LOL

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Herbert, Edd, Jackie have all left me. I miss you guys! Town is so quiet you can hear a pin drop:!)

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Hasta Pronto!

Terrorist at the airport-a sign?

I thought this was a cute picture to post. .

Yesterday was my day off and I went to Cabrera again. It seems as if I will be going to Cabrera more often now. I have some business that takes me there again. This is how I got to like the area. I had some business that took me there often and I enjoyed the town. One thing that I liked was that there weren't many bars on the windows as there are here in Sosua.

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Business has been slow at the restaurant this last week. We went from feast to famine for some reason. We had our biggest day and then we have had a very slow week. The Hotel is packing up today so it looks like we will have a decent night and weekend. Good thing as Payroll is tomorrow:)

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Nothing else is new here in Sosua except that a new bar/restaurant/wrestling and boxing ring has opened. I use to own that property and sold it to these guys who did a wonderful job renovating it. They will have live boxing and wrestling which is a first for the north Coast. I only found out yesterday that they had this in the Capitol. Stop buy and check out Andy's Bar/Restaurant on Pedro Clisante when you are in town. Tell them that Scott sent you.

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Hasta Pronto!

Back to Bite them!

Dominican government "tremendously" concerned over decline in duty-free production . Santo Domingo.- Concerned over the decline experienced during the past months by the duty-free industry, president Leonel Fernandez summed representatives from the sector to analyze the situation in a meeting to take place this upcoming Monday in Santiago. During the announcement of the meeting, Technical minister Temistocles Montas and Duty-Free Council director Luisa Fernandez informed that, during the past six months, this secto had declined production by 8 percent. In this regard, Montas explained that authorities and the sector would embark in thorough discussions as to the problems faced by the sector. . Read the rest of the story:http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=17043 ----------------------------

While this government may be doing a few things right they have screwed the pooch on others. They have been too concerned with building a legacy instead of getting this country in a position to move forward into the future.

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This is just one of the things that has backfired because of a bad government policy and that is manipulating the exchange rate of the Pesos to their own gain. Without balance things do and will come back to haunt them.

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I have always said that I don't care for this government although it is a bit better than the last.

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Peso manipulation

No Gas on Weekends

Restricted hours on serving of Alcohol

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These are just some of the things that they do that effect this economy in a negative manner. If you have read my thoughts here you will notice I like the early hours for a lot of reasons but at the end of the day it is bad for the economy. Everytime they make a change they do it BANG and no one understands a damn thing and it upsets the apple cart.

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Hasta Pronto!

Crowds Panic as Floods threaten Ireland

New York Times Via AP: Crowds Panic as Flood Threatens Ireland !! We've all seen the faces of those ravaged by the floods of Sri Lanka and New Orleans. This award-winning photograph of the recent flood waters rising in Ireland captures the horror and suffering of the victims. Keep these poor wretches in your thoughts and prayers.!!!

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Weather conditions in the US have affected us in the Dominican Republic this week. The Hotel is slow because people haven't been able to make connections caused by Hurricane Ernesto and John. . Thanks Unk for this photo and headline. I laughed and hope to give others the same laugh! . We had 95% of our business from outside the hotel yesterday instead of only 50-70%. I guess you would say business was a bit off considering this is a holiday weekend in the US. . Considering that last week was our busiest week ever I thought it would only get stronger but alas it fell off a bit. Only difference is that now a slow day is 5x the volume that a slow day was a month or two ago. Business is definately on the rise here although sometimes not as fast as I would like it. . We were steady slow during the day and dead at night but then we got a 9:30 pm Rush that made the day. All of a sudden we had 18 dinners going at the same time. Funny how one rush can change the days economy here. . Yesterday my buddy Edd Rellosk arrived in town. It is always good to see him even when he gets off the plane half toasted:) He is headed up to Costambar for a few days and then returns to Sosua for another week. . Edd brought me down a nice bottle of Scotch. Balvenie 12 year old. It was aged in two different woods and this is the nicest 12 year old single malt I have tried. Usually the 12 year old single malts taste like paint thinner to me. My other buddy Herbert who is also in town brought me down a bottle of Macallan 12 year old which I also liked but these are the ONLY 2 I have ever enjoyed. . After drinking the 12 year old Balvenie I poured a small taste of the 21 year old Balvenie which is aged in Port Wood just to see the difference. Funny thing was at first I thought that there wasn't any difference between the two until I switched back to a taste of the 12 year old and then I noticed a big difference. . I also got another Patron Silver in. Now I have 3 in stock. We have a customer who goes by the name of Tequilla Tony put a serious dent in my stockpile a week ago and ran me out of the Silver when he bought 3.5 bottles in one night. I love this guy! If I can get him back the same week I have my other buddies Jack Quontee and Edd I can probably save up enough money to buy the hotel:) These guys can drink! When Jackie was here he polished off the bottle of Don Julio I had which I just got replaced yesterday. . I am pretty sure that Tequilla is our biggest booze here by both dollars and volume. I never knew it was so popular before I went into this business. You never know though. I use to sell a lot of Bombay Saphire but that hasn't sold in a while but I have 3-4 bottles in stock. Go figger, I usually have "Just in time inventory". Thanks Dave for that term:) . Remember guys if you are coming down and can pick something up for me at duty free drop me an email and let me know! I can use all the help I can get always! . Tomorrow night is Taco Tuesday. I had a great time there last week! Great crowd and met a lot of new folks along with a bunch of the old timers! This week we should have a great crowd again. . Herman who is in town is leaving Tuesday. I am sorry to see him go. I can't wait for his return already. His villa has been rented for 1 year and he also bought a condo at Club Residential which is also rented. I took that homeless boy into my house so he didn't have to sleep in the Street:) If he didn't come into the restaurant to eat I don't think I would ever see him although he is in my house. I only ran into him one time when I returned to the restaurant one evening for the Dinner shift. He was so surprised to see me walk out of my bedroom to leave. He was sitting on the sofa using the internet and he said "I didn't even know you were home". I got home at 12:15am last night and he was already sleeping like every other night. . Hasta Pronto! PS>Maryanne I am going to send you a pic to kind of get the ball rolling!

Global Warming

My Uncle sent this to me today. I thought it was a cute shot!

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We are closed on Wednesdays at the restaurant but we will be open today. Rearranged the schedual to allow the extra day because we were so busy last week and I thought we would be very busy today with the Labor Day Holiday in the States coming up. We slowed down yesterday and it will probably be just as slow today but it will still be a decent day. Even a slow day is 2x as busy as it was only 2 weeks ago.

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We are getting a LOT of people back now that were here when we first opened in May. I have one fellow who is celebrating because he sold a screen play and I have another who was here a week ago who decided to come back to burn off the rest of vacation time he had coming to him.

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For the first time I don't have to open. Dori is opening and I will go in at 11 or 12 and stay till closing. I have a bunch of my neighbors coming in for dinner tonight and I look forward to having them in QuiXotes! Most of them have already been in the restaurant many times and it is nice to see them come back!

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Mr. Rellosk is coming on Saturday and my man Frank the Tank is going to also be in town soon. Nice seeing friends return and return often.

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Last night Herman, Dawn and I went to Taco Tuesday. I had a real nice time and saw a lot of nice people. It was very crowded there.

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Herbert is also in town but he needed to go to sleep early because the three of them are already on their way to Santiago to go shopping. I gave Herman 5000 Pesos last night to pick up some stuff at PriceMart for me for the restaurant. I am hoping they have a good liquor selection and maybe a better price on La Benedicta which is a hard cider which comes in a Dark Royal Blue beer type bottle. I have been selling lots of them and hope I can get a better price from PriceMart. Herman will call me when they get there and I will go shopping on the phone:)

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Yesterday I got the first payment on a mortgage I gave out last month. Woo hoo! Keep the good times flowing:)

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I got an email from a Brittish friend Michael this morning who just toured Eastern Europe with another Canadian Friend Fred. They both spend a lot of time here and Michael owns a condo and is a good customer at the restaurant along with a couple other of his friends. Seems like they had a real nice time. Hope they will return next month! He asked about the restaurant and wants to come back and have Dori's food. I can't blame him actually. We have some real nice stuff on the menu and I really enjoy the curries myself. He also sends regards to Dori and Dawn.

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I tried staying out last night and wanted to close the bars at 1am but of course was way too tired. Ended up going home at 12:30am and falling out. Of course I was up at 6:30 today although I don't have to go into work until noon.:(

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Well now I have to take a nap. 8am and I need a nap already if I want to feel good later when I close the restaurant.

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I spoke to Jackie Quontee yesterday. He is real busy at work and is going to run for office so it looks like he wont return in October as planned. Too bad, I miss that Loco Indian already! Perhaps I will tell a tale of him in Sosua on his last trip on the blog. Nah, I can't do that!

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Maryanne, I am still waiting for my pictures so send them already before I open photo shop and make my own:)

Hasta Pronto!

Say Hello to my friend and neighbor Norris. He is in town for about a month while renovating a condo in El Neptuno where I live. He is trying to keep up with the Jones. Next and to the left of Norris is Randall.

Randall is in the Commercial Real Estate Business in Harlem. From what I can gather Harlem is getting to be one of the hotspots in NY these days. Randall here with a group of guys who are mostly in the Real Estate business and associated business in Harlem. Great group of guys and it is nice to be able to talk dirt and finances with people that do what I do in other places. When you keep your mouth closed and listen you may just pick up a tidbit of info that can be a gem for your future.

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Say hello to John and Wendy. John lives here most of the time and has a apartment just up the road from QuiXotes so we are usually blessed with his company when he is in town.

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We have been real busy at the restauant for the last 5 days. I this has been our biggest week ever. It felt like when we first opened. I got out late and had to go straight home to bed every night because I was exhausted. Little different now than in the beginning where I was the waiter, bartender, cashier, bus boy and cleaning woman. We had a full staff plus an extra cook who was training. We did great although it was way too hectic.

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I am looking for another Bartender and another cook now so I can get them used to our ways. When we get into the season I want to be ready so the service doesn't suffer and we can keep up our quality.

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I am sitting here with Bob K and Karl having breakfast now. Bob K and his lovely wife are in the process of building a new home here. Karl will return here to live as soon as he sells his business in Atlanta. We are picking up our game here in Sosua with more quality people every day!

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Hasta Pronto!

Last night at the Restaurant

Herman and Dawn were in Quixotes for dinner last night. I finally joined them when things settled down. We had our busiest day ever last night. We ROCKED.

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Believe it or not this was with a very light breakfast crowd. Maybe served 10 breakfasts yesterday and had a record day.

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Today we served 45 to 55 Breakfasts so I am hoping for another record breaker. When I left to go home at 1pm today the place was crowded and people were eating and drinking. Should be another good day if things carry on like they started.

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When we first opened Dori put Buffalo Wings on the menu but they were really BBQ wings. I changed them to dynomite Buffalo Wings after receiving justafied complaints. We served the wings today to some guys that were last here when we first opened and complained that they weren't BBQ Wings:) I will never win. I would like to have both on the menu. One weekend we sold 50 lbs of Wings. Since it was the first thing on the menu I thought everyone had attention deficit disorder and couldnt concentrate past #1 on the menu:)

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In another hour I go pick up Herbert. His flight on Continental was delayed and had to switch planes. He has some goodies for me which I can't wait to discover:) Woo Hoo, my booze selection is looking good. I got Absolute Rasberry today and hadn't had that before. Maybe I will have something new for later!

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I was showing off my cognacs to a guy today who was drinking Remy VSOP this afternoon at the restaurant. I also have the Remy XO now and Frappin XO. I also showed him Dalmaine and Leopold 20 Carrot. Add Hennesy and Montesol and Napoleon to that my selection is the best in town and probably the country. Even the high end restaurants can't offer the selection I have already and growing.

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Before you know it I will have achieved my goal in having the best selection of liquor in the entire country. I may have the best selection overall already but I ain't gonna stop until I can't display one more bottle. I will keep adding onto the display and love it!

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Hasta Pronto!

Guess who came for dinner?

Herman is back in Town! Dawn and I went to the Airport yesterday afternoon to pick up Herman to bring him to Sosua. .

For all of you that don't know Herman he is what we consider the social director of Sosua. Before he rented his villa (da stinkin bum) everyone wanted to be on the "A" List to get an invite to one of his Dinners. Now that he isn't in his villa we usually go somewhere to eat with a large group of people or a small group but we are always doing something when he is here.

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Herman bought a condo to stay in after renting his villa and renovated it with all the class he is famous for here in Sosua. He is staying there now but will be staying in my house for a few days at the end of his trip because of conflict of renters there also. Sheesh Herman can't seem to keep a home:)

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Great to have him back and I have already heard many Hermanisms in the car on the way back to Sosua. He had people laughing all the way back to town!

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Today Herbert is coming to town. I just got off the phone with him as he is sitting on a plane in Newark waiting on a part. If they can't get that part they will have to change planes. Cool, Herman and Herbert at the same time! Dawn will be in all her glory having two good friends here together! The three of us plan on heading to the airport if things work out to pick Herbert up!

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Yesterday Herman brought me 2 bottles of Patron. The bottle of Silver is half finished already.

Tony Tequilla hurt me again yesterday. I had to call Herbert to put another bottle of Silver on top of the list for todays milk run:)

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Hasta Pronto!

I just got this email from one of the guys here for a party because one of the 11 was getting married.

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"Hey, Scott hope things are great with you. Oh, man!!! what a great time we had we can't stop talking about it. Scott thanks for everything. "I shall return".

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This is one of the 4 guys I put a picture of last week. 11 guys and everyone a great guy both together with the gang and individually. The father of the Groom was here also and man what a GENTLEMAN! These are the customers that make being in a Restaurant/Bar business worthwhile. My good friends who I have had for a long time when in town I would be hanging out with them regardless if it was in my place or someone elses. It is meeting strangers who are great people that make me enjoy this place.

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I have a few guys here now who were here the first day I opened the restaurant. Tony Tequilla and his cousin Paul. These guys were laughing their asses off at me when I first opened with raw light bulbs (NOT ONE LIGHT FIXTURE) and not one employee working the floor except for myself.

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They still talk about me being crazed when we were busy one day and the owner of the hotel came in to ask that one of the cooks move his motorbike out of the middle of the circular driveway. I wanted to fire that guy on the spot. (Would have if we weren't so busy and having no replacement) I couldn't believe how stupid a guy could be.

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It is great to have these guys back in town. Hell Tony Tequilla ran me out of 2.5 bottles of Patron in just one evening. He thought he could bust me but I still have 2 in stock:) Actually a Friend Ben brought one just in time after Tony dented me that one night.

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Today I pick up Herman from the Airport. It has been a while since Herman has been here. He is going to be staying at my condo for the last few days that he is in town because his villa is rented and there was even a conflict with him staying in his own condo because that was rented! .

Starting today this town is going to ROCK. By Saturday you won't get a room here at all. I am looking forward to it! We were busy as hell last week and faded on Tuesday. We close Wednesday now because it is the slowest day of the week this time of the year but Thursdays gets crazy as all the people come into town every week.

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I should reread this blog year after year to see what business is going to be like. What a great resourse of the history of business in Sosua it will be for me.

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Today I pick Herman up and Tomorrow I pick Herbert. Everyday I have friends coming into town for the next 10 days and how I look forward to it!

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Ok, guys, you know who you are, the ones that haven't been here for a while, email me and let me know your plans!

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This week I added Ketel One, Remy XO, Grey Gooses L'orange and a couple of others to the list. I hopefully will be adding others in the next few days. Thank goodness I expanded the liquor display JUST IN TIME!

Hasta Pronto!

The guy on the left is getting married!

These guys just left yesterday. There were about 10 or 11 of them and these guys were great fun. Every last one of them were great guys and I thoroughly enjoyed their company.

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The guy getting married won't return but the others will. They loved the place. Perhaps they or some of them will stay in my condo on their return.

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The restaurant was real busy this week but yesterday we slowed down and today is real quiet. Starting on Thursday we will get busy again which I am looking forward to. Thursday my buddy Herman comes in and Friday my buddy Herbert arrives. It gets better after that as more friends start showing up. Jackie Quontree leaves today but I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with him while he was here. Sorry to see Jackie go for sure but he is back in about a month so I will now look forward to his return. Patrick Badpiece is in town now and in the restaurant showing off his new found inventory just about nightly:)

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We are going to have quite a crew of old friends by Labor Day here and I look forward to this scene. Hey Edd come to the North Coast where it is pretty instead of that ugly South!

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Today is Taco Tuesday again which I plan on attending. Tomorrow is my day off which I am looking forward to!

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Yesterday a friend Ben brought me some goodies. Remy XO, Patron and Kettle One. When he was taking these bottles out of his bag I couldn't believe how excited I was getting. Man my collection is looking good!

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If you guys can bring some booze for me I would appreciate it. My wishlist includes Sex Vodka, Patron Silver, Tres Generations Anejo, Don Julio Tequillas, Macallan 12 & 18 year old, Bushmills Bourbon, Level One Vodka, Hennesy VSOP. Wild Turkey 17 YO and Tribute, Noahs Mill, Southern Comfort, Makers Mark, Elijah Craig 12 year old, Old Ezra, Grey Goose Regular, Heaven Hill, Bourbon Valley, Martin Mills, Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve, Classic Cask just to name a few. I need to increase my selection of Bourbons since they sell very few here.

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This week one guy who we call Tony Tequilla ran me out of three bottles of Patron which I had in stock. He usually buys 15 to 25 shots at a time for everyone here. This guy is a lot of fun and as soon as he walks into the bar the place fills up in anticipation:)

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I will gladly pick you up at the POP Airport if you need a ride!

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Hasta Pronto!

More Improvements to the Restaurant

In this first Picture you see how I display my selection of liquors. I wanted to wow you when you came in with the selection up in the air above the bar.

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Well I have ran out of space and not only needed the space which was over crowded up on top but the back bar was also overflowing.

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We are now finishing the area around the back which you will see below and that will also be full of the biggest selection of Liquor in the WHOLE Dominican Republic.

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I first wanted to WOW you when you walked in. Now I am going to blow you away with truly the best selection of booze you may have ever seen in one place. I am improving my selection just about every week with a bigger selection. .

Here in the next photo you can see the expansion. As of tonight the mirror is installed as well as the glass. The Metal Trim is going up probably tomorrow. YAHOO, the place is starting to come together.

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I also have new fixtures coming in this week for this side of the bar. Three to be exact and hopefully they will be installed soonest.

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Business is a little soft this week but still not bad. They hotel is book from Thursday into next month so we will be busier after our day off which is now on Wednesdays and tomorrow!

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Off to Taco Tuesday.

Hasta Pronto!

Another week another Change...

We at QuiXote's Restaurant in Sosua Dominican Republic try to make positive changes in our new Restaurant every week. If you have been following this blog since the opening you will understand that sometimes it is somewhat difficult to make the changes happen! .

This weeks changes are the custom made covers with our logo on them to present the bills to our customers in. It isn't a big deal but just adds a bit of class to serve the bills to our customers. Sets us apart from most of the others here along with other things that we continually try to improve. Just another part of presentation which we feel is important.

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Greg who is our evening waiter wanted some sort of fold to present checks and suggested that I come up with something last week. Thanks Greg for the suggestion that I was able to implement in short order. You have helped to guide us up the service scale and I thank you for it.

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You can see the Granite bar top which was also added this month to QuiXotes. That is one of the most talked about improvements. Even the Dominicans who aren't customers have commented how beautiful it is.

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Tomorrow I will show some pics of what we are currently working on. I took the pics but the battery died in the camera before I could offload them onto the computer. After I switch batteries I will put them up so you can see a little construction going on here.

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Tonight is Taco Tuesday and I have already arranged to take the time off tonight to attend. Opening a restaurant had limited my ability to go there and I am trying to change that. I want to go back to doing some of the things that make my life here as enjoyable as it has been and Taco Tuesday is about the first change I have been able to affect so far but it is a start.

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Taco Tuesday is held at a small place on the beach just before Kite Beach in Cabarete. I have been going for quite a while and always take friends with me since I enjoy it so much. I will take pictures and post them tomorrow! (if I remember to take the freakin camera)

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I like this place from the moment I walk in when I see the beautiful piece of property overlooking the beach and the ocean! Then you get to the bar and all the people are sweet and friendly which just makes for a great night. They have an all you can eat Taco Bar which is very good. It has already been copied but the original will always be the original! The copy will always just be a copy! I look forward to going tonight and hanging out with friends present and future as I always do here.

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Last night Cassidy was in the restaurant and I thoroughly enjoyed her company. I look forward to seeing her tonight also. If you read this Cassidy, your first Scotch is on me tonight! LOL

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If you are planning on going I will see you there. Sam if you are still in town and need a ride give me a call. The free taxi leaves at 6:30pm promptly from Sosua! Gosh I miss Timmy! If you are reading this Timmy make a comment and let me know how you are. Better yet send me a long email and let me know what is going on with you! Timmy is serving he country somewhere overseas at the moment but spent a year here on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic enriching our lives with his friendship, humor and just being an all around great friend and I miss him!

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Hasta Pronto

Talking about Strikes

On http://www.lifeinthedr.com/forum they were talking about a strike here because of the price of gas.

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Instead they are changing the signs on the road to the sign pictured here!

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Hah!

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Ok so I have nothing much to write about. I bought a car yesterday. 2006 Diahatsu Terios. Good little piece of junk that gets good gas milage. I got it from a friend and got a very good price on it. I think I will make it up in about 20 years with the savings on gas from my other Jeepeta which I still have:) Whooo Hooo!

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They keep talking about the hours that the discos and bars will close. Rumor abounds that they are going to raise the time from 12 on the weekdays and 2 am on weekends to 2 and 4 but I doubt it. Mostly just people talking to show how much they know which isn't anything but possible wishes.

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I love the early bar closings. As long as they do it for the entire country it is a good thing. I can now close the bars on the weekdays and not even get drunk as I usually close around 11 pm so it is just an hour. Cool!

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Hey you guys coming to Sosua. Please send me email if you can stop off in Duty Freee and pick me up some booze! I would appreciate it muchly:)

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Hasta Pronto!

I added a new link

Sorry guys, I am on the loaner laptop at the restaurant and it looks like I will have to reinstall the operating system as someone has of course screwed it up. I will do this tonight. I put a hard link on the blog on the right for a website/blog by the name of DRFools which is a spoof on DR posters on the message boards. It is pretty hilarious and sometimes a little hard on some people who don't deserve it but I put it up anyway. . Check it out at: . Http://www.drfools.blogspot.com and you will get a kick out of it probably. . I think I am profiled as a Donald Trump or millionaire wannabe with no friends and a storyteller about all the women I bed down. They only got part of it right! LOL . Last night Jackie Quontree, Paradise, Dawn and myself went to that German restaurant located on a road across from Bozo Beach just before the verizon property heading to Cabarete after the gas station coming from Sosua. . Food was decent and comfortable and I would recommend this place to anyone. Check the place out! . We have decided to Close QuiXote's on Wednesday instead of Mondays from now on. Turns out that Wednesday is our slowest day of the week. When high season starts I hope to be open 7 days a week with expanded hours. I have 2 part timers who are working here who I hope will be up to speed by then. Actually one is and one isn't so I hope to have the staff built in by then. . Yesterday we opened from 9 to 1pm because we have been very busy. We had a great 4 hours and were crowded from start to finish. Also had a plumber in to fix 3 leaks, a repairman for one of the fridges and tried out a new cook who fit in right away. Cool day with a lot accomplished, 42 meals served and still had half a day off to go to Puerto Plata to accomplish some things for the restaurant. . Yesterday the fellow that designed and built the trim on the bar and the light fixtures came in. We discussed getting new fixtures for the otherside of the bar and redoing all the metal work to make the place nicer from both the inside and the outside. Stay tuned as this place comes together in the next several weeks. . Hasta Pronto!

Mi Dos Linda

These are a few pretty women who frequent QuiXote's. I saved these for when I had no other pertinent pictures to post. They are real sweet gals who photograph nicely and I enjoy seeing them. I just closed out the books for July at QuiXote's restaurant in Sosua and comparing to June which was our first complete month we went up 37.03% from our first month to our second complete month.

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Now I don't know how long those kind of numbers can keep up but we have started off August with a BANG and I expect to have August up over July for sure already.

. Business should more or less grow for the next several months or until April when we should go into low season.

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It is now 8:04 am and I have six guys at the bar laughing and telling stories about last night. They travel here together every year and there are a dozen here now with 2 new guys. Just sitting here and listening is hilarious.

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Last night they were drinking shots and a toast that was hilarious. I will have to ask the toast to write it down.

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Here's to the breezes that blow thru the tree'es that lift the skirts above the knee'es that reveal the spots that spread diseases, oh what a snatch, down the hatch.

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When you here 12 guys singing this at the top of their lungs it is hilarious. There were 15 girls here at the time and they for the life of them couldn't get it but were laughing their arses off.

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What a fun crew and great customers!

Nuevo Granite Bar

Well here you go folks, my granite bar top has been installed. If you have the time to read on you will get the feeling of how difficult things are here in the DR and how diligent you need to be. . They were supposed to get here at 10:30 in the morning and I needed to remove the old wood bar top before they got here. I asked Diego who owns the hotel if he wanted the old bar top. I said he could have it just for taking it away. I told him I needed the person in the Restaurant at 8 am to get this done as the new Granite top would be there at 10:30am. . Sounds simple, right? Uh Uh, nothing is simple here. I get here on Monday morning promptly at 7:30 am in anticipation of the guy being here at 8am. Of course he isn't there by 8:30 so I go to the desk and ask the woman there if she could call Diego. Well 15 minutes later I am told he will be here in half an hour. I come back at 9:15 am after having breakfast and he finally shows up.

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If you look at the pictures this guy Knocked out with a hammer fake wood that looked like it was supporting the bar. Dori my partner came in and I didn't keep my eye on what the guy was doing because I was talking to Dori. Now I have holes in the bar because of this jerk. I said why did you do this? It wasn't necessary and now I need to do more work. He said it is only a little concrete. You have to keep your eye on these people every second or everything that they do will end up costing you more money. They have absolutely no respect for what is right. Then the moron says he is leaving because I complained.

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Dori and I removed the bar with no more damage by 10:28 am which was 2 minutes earlier than the new top was supposed to arrive.

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Of course the granite doesn't get here. I call up and they say that they are on their way from Santiago. I call up an hour later and they said they would be here soon. They finally get here 2 hours later and unload the Granite and ask me to sign. I say WHOA, you are supposed to install it. They say someone else is going to do this. Ok, I call up again and they say they are sending the people now from Puerto Plata. I call back an hour later and ask what is going on. She calls me back and says "they stopped for lunch". It is now 3:30pm and I said "if you would have told me I would have eaten also". She says "you can go to eat". I go to a takeaway and then take it to a bar nearbye and order a beer to wash down my Dominican meal. As I sit down to eat the guy that is installing comes over to me to say he is ready. It is now 4pm. I have been there since 7:30am.

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They set the first piece of 5 and go around the bar. The bar is now pointing in the wrong direction. They cut an angle off the granite to make it point right. The granite is now missing 4 inches in the middle. I had to cut off the bar at the end in a angle to make the short piece work. Of course the woman is going to come in to take a look on Tuesday to see what is wrong but of course she doesn't show up. She doesn't show up on Wednesday either. Man you have to keep your nose to the grindstone here in this country because there isn't even a apology coming when they screw the pooch in their work. I had no choice but to make this work so I could open up the next day.

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Welcome to doing renovations in the Dominican Republic. I do have to say that it cost a hell of a lot less than in the states but I still for the life of me can't understand why these people don't take more pride in what they do. It isn't like it is a lot more work to do things in the right way. Just a little more effort is all it takes.

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Hasta Pronto!

Say hello to Dave from Atlanta. Dave was staying in my condo for 5 days and just left yesterday. We have been exchanging emails for about 2 years now talking about different things but including many things we had in common but this is the first time we have met.

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When he told he was 6'7" tall and he would be easy to spot at the airport he was 100% correct. Man you cant help but look at this guy and call him Stretch:)

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Dawn and Stretch have been hanging out a lot since he introduced himself to her at Lou's Shark Bar. When Dawn asked how he knew her he said "from Scott's Blog" which gave her a laugh. On the last night before he left the three of us went to dinner at Pomadoro's on the beach in Cabarete. It was too bad the town was dead because Cabarete is an interesting place with many restaurants which double as clubs at night directly on the beach but it is nicer to appreciate it when there is a crowd there. Personally I like places better when it is quiet as I am not a big one on crowds. I hate being touched and jostled by people I don't know.

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As most of you that have been reading my blog for a while know that I have a particular Whore House I go to in Cabarete when I am there and of course we headed there after the dinner.

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Here is a picture of Stretch with one of the lovely women there. This tipico as well as the town of Cabarete was very quiet and not a lot of people there that night. Problem with Cabarete is when it is quiet you really notice it and a lot more than you do in Sosua.

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Look at the smile on this boys face. It seems as he has never been as happy as I have ever seen him.

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Look at Stretch. Definately not as happy as he is above:) Harsh reality is going home after a stay in Fantasyland for everyone.

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I wish him well and hope that he returns soon. He is a great guy with a lot of interesting stories to tell and I look forward to hearing more of them the next time he is in town. Alas, back to the "real" world for Stretch! Godspeed on your return my friend!

Hasta Pronto!

Another day in the Salt Mines...

This lovely couple came into the restaurant last night for dinner. I had met this gentleman at a real estate office once or twice before.

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Sam and his lovely wife sent them into the restaurant. He had been looking to see where I had opened up but didn't know where we were. I am glad that they finally made it and I hope that they come back soonest!

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Below you see Danny and Diane in the front and Phil and his lovely wife to the rear. Phil and his wife are returning to the states for a few month tomorrow. I am glad that he came in both last night and this morning for breakfast. I won't see them for a while. D&D I had better see way sooner though!

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It is always nice to see NICE people in the restaurant.

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We have been real busy in the last several days. I don't know why but it is nice! I would rather see a lot of people than just a few since I have to be there anyway.

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We had a full house for breakfast today. The people from German TV cam over today and shot some film of the restaurant. That should be good for business. We have been getting some Germans in but not by the percentages that live in Sosua which is high.

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Monday we are having the Granite Bar top installed. I have guys coming in at 8 to take off the Wood top and then at 10:30am the Granite installers are coming. Woo Hoo, finally! After I get that done I will work on getting the private dining room done. My partner wants to put sofas and chairs in there instead of having 16 seats. I don't quite get that to tell you the truth. People hang out all the time in the restaurant and if we make it TOO comfortable they will never leave:)

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Well back to my siesta. I need to rest before I go back to close the restaurant tonight.

Hasta Pronto!

I miss you guys... Come back NOW!

I want my friends Herbert and Tony back in Sosua and although they havent been gone for 4 weeks yet. It is always great having them in Sosua and in QuiXotes Restaurant.

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I actually came across this photo taken earlier in the month when looking to download another from my camera for the blog above. I looked at these guys and thought about the fact that I miss them already.

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Just come on back NOW guys. Let your work take care of itself. LOL

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Hasta Pronto!

Ice to Grass

Say hello to Doug. He just got accepted on a pro golf tour as a player. Really quite an athlete he is. Retired as a professional Hockey player and was partnered with great Bobby Orr before Orr's retirement. .

Now he is on a pro circuit and I wish him all the luck in the world! Doug and his wife Linda are building a house in Sosua and it should be ready in a few more months. I know I certainly can't wait till it is done and they start spending more time down here.

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A friend of mine Dave got in from Atlanta yesterday and I picked him up at the Airport. He muled some booze down for me and just about as soon as I put it on the shelf I sold a shot of Don Julio which I had before but sold out of. After I sold a few shots of the other which was Macallan's 12 year old which I didn't have here before. Talking about "Just in Time inventory". We now I believe have the largest liquor selection bar none on the North Coast.

My dear friends who mule for me, I still need you because I want to double what I have so don't bail on me.:)

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Dave is a very interesting guy who I enjoyed speaking with for most of the evening. He has traveled most of the world and I learned new things about Australia and even China I didn't know before. Nice getting enriched by people visiting Sosua! Dave is in the Cellular business and so was I many years ago so we have some business experiences in common although it feels like my info is more aged than his and in the Electronics business once you have been out of it one year let alone 7 years your knowledge is now history.

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I went out again last night and although I didn't have it in me in desire or strenght to stay out to close the bars again I did go to a packed disco at 11:30 which was the first and only time I saw the disco with more than 6 people in it before 1 am. This new law may hurt some people but it now makes me a late night kind of guy without having to punish myself to do it.

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Yesterday was a storming day in Sosua. Hard rain many times and ominous the other times. Today is slightly overcast but promises to have some sunshine which I want because I need to get my excercise in the pool today. A few neighbors have been playing volleyball lately and I have enjoyed it. Look forward to it today weather permitting.

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Has a slow day or two in the beginning of the week but we have picked up again on Thursday as people packed into the hotel. I look forward to a busy weekend. Nice to have it as 3 more days to payday and electric etc..

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Hasta Pronto!

PS> Tambo, they are putting a new roof on the pizza place

Taco Tuesday...

Say hello to the infamous Camden Tom and Mary Lips! They made a guest appearance at Taco Tuesday last night and as always it was a pleasure to see and chat with them. I love these guys!

I have decided to take off Tuesday evenings from yesterday onward. I really miss going to Taco Tuesday and returned last night for the first time in a while. Below I get my welcome back kiss from Sandy "the hostest with the mostest". It was nice to be at probably one of the nicest places on the North Coast which I enjoy as soon as I walk onto the property. . Here is the smiling face of Dawnypoo. It was great to be out hanging out with her again at Taco Tuesday!

Man will you look at this picture of Grahame.

When I was there I was told that there was a bar in Sosua that was going to do Taco Tuesday. Now I hear that imitation is the biggest form of flattery but... an original idea is way better than trying to take another's thunder.

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I had a wonderful time as always with lovely people and can't wait to return again next week. Whoopee, two nights off in a row. Cool

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Hasta Pronto!

As Arnold says.... "I'M BACK"

Well after spending 8 days in NY I returned on Wednesday home to Sosua, Dominican Republic.

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Everything went well including a bump on Continental on my return. Problem is that they shipped my luggage on the day I was supposed to fly and when I retrieved it the landrones went shopping in my luggage clipping 2 bottles of booze and my cell phone that I use in the DR.

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I have written to Continental a few times and called yesterday. I was on hold for about an hour while nothing went on and finally hung up. My first impression of Continental Airlines after a long hiatus using American to the DR is that their Customer service skills leave a lot to be desired. More on that as things happen. I am not letting them off the hook.

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When I got back I went to work and almost fell asleep at 8pm but managed to keep my head up. On the following day I got kidnapped to go to eat on the beach in Cabarete with Dawn, Camden Tom, Mary, Doug and Linda. I thoroughly enjoyed myself but they made like I had agreed to this when I wouldnt have considered it on my own without speaking with Dori.

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Anyhow I went and had a great time with great people. It is always a pleasure to hang out with Great folks. Doug and Linda are building a home in Panarama Village and Tom and Mary have a home on the beach in Cabarete along with making plans for their farm on El Choco Road to eventually live up there.

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Last night we picknicked up on the Farm and also had a very delightful time.

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Yesterday which was Monday we opened the Restaurant at the request of our customers staying in the Hotel from 9-1pm. We did a very brisk business and everyone was happy but me because I had to work of course:) We have a nice crowd at the hotel. For the most part not an idiot amoung them. Usually there are a group of people I would rather not have in the restaurant but when you are dealing with a full hotel that would be the case anywhere.

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I overheard a conversation of three Black guys talking. One who is a NY Cop was telling a story about a Lieutenant who was rude to him and another guy says "HE WAS WHITE, RIGHT?" Well I smacked him on the shoulder and said "Watch it". Has the situation been reversed it would have been a horrible thing to say and I wanted to bring it to his attention that discrimination and generalization is bad for everyone. These are a bunch of nice polite guys who have been here before. If I didn't know them I wouldn't have said a word but I wanted to bring it to their attention. They got a chuckle out of it. I enjoy these guys and have the other times that they were here

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It is a overcast cool morning in Sosua. I am watching the sky get darker and darker. It is GOING to rain although the sun was out on my way in at 7:30am. Good, we can always use the rain and the customers at the hotel which is pretty full will hang out in the Restaurant all day:)

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Hey, I have to be there anyway so why not have some business in the slow time of year? LOL

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Look for more blogging from me soon. I'M BACK!!!

Hasta Pronto!

My next wife...

This is Gaby who is the daughter of my friend Sylvie. They were in town this past weekend and I didn't get to see them. Gaby is one of the two beauties in the picture on the right with me. .

She is getting older and more beautiful in every picture her mom sends me. It looks as she is slimming or getting longer. I remember my daughter look like a Chinese Shar Pei for the first year. I wondered when my wife would take the rubber bands off of her wrists. It is great watching kids grow up!

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I always get together with these guys when I am in Santo Domingo or they are in Sosua. I am sorry we didn't get the chance this time but there is always a next time and I am already looking forward to then!

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This young lady is going to be a real heart breaker. I feel sorry for the guys that get in her path in life!

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Today is Sunday and I am looking forward to Monday which is my day off. I will be running around trying to get some stuff done. Still trying to find that elusive tile to redo the front entrance of the Restaurant. This will be about the 4 th or 5 th week in a row I am trying to get it done.

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Hasta Pronto!

Got a picture

I got this picture via email that was taken a few days ago. From left to right is Dawn, Tony (Aka Jackie) Jacquelina, Herbert and Me of course.

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Man when I look at myself in the mirror all I see is a fat old guy but I am pretty studly looking in this photo. Not too bad for a guy that is going to be 57 on my next birthday No wonder all the gals run after me all the time! I finally understand:)

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Today is a very beautiful warm and sunny day in QuiXote's Restaurante located in the Europa Hotel in Sosua, Dominican Republic.

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Linda and Doug stopped off this morning on the way to the beach. They got in last night and stopped in with Dawn for a drink. They left early since only having 3 hours sleep the night before. They said that they will return later. Doug use to be a professional Hockey Player. I heard a rumor that he lost a skating race to Ok, I have to give Doug a break, Linda use to be a speedskater and only knows how to turn left. Doug you should have skated in the wrong direction! LOL, he is going to kill me when he reads this!:)

. Hasta Pronto!